Worldwide internet slowdown reported effecting commerce worldwide.

Slowdown originating in China. Denial of service and other internet attacks reportedly due to massive Chinese censorship of today's NY Times 7 page article detailing the multiple billionaires within the family of China's Prime Minister - Wen Jiabao. Jiabao - like Warren Buffett, has been portrayed as honest and folksy. A reformer.

The NY Times piece appears close on the heels of a development in a sensitive area of U.S. - China economic relations, that being China's dominant position in rare earth metals, which are crucial in the production of electronics.

Yesterday China closed down a portion of their rare earth production in an effort to obtain higher prices:

Unlike, say, copyright issues, pertaining to western software, China has the west in a vulnerable position with rare-earth metals because China obtained production of the metals "fair and square" and is vulnerable neither legally or morally because of their control of rare earth metals prices.

In June, Bloomberg reported that Vice President Xi Jinping, who is poised to take over as president later this year, had collected $376 million for his own family. Government censors, apparently spooked, took the unusual step of not just censoring online discussion of the story but shutting down Chinese access to the Bloomberg site entirely.

In June, Bloomberg reported that Vice President Xi Jinping, who is poised to take over as president later this year, had collected $376 million for his own family. Government censors, apparently spooked, took the unusual step of not just censoring online discussion of the story but shutting down Chinese access to the Bloomberg site entirely.

More...

This is different than the Vice-President.

Multiple news stories cite China's quick censorship of the disclosures involving the Prime Minister. These revelations are more of a surprise.

Previous economic abuses have also landed some Chinese officials in jail.

Chinese do it better. Politicians here are every bit as corrupt as the chinese ones. At least the chinese don't sell out the entire country to foreign interests just for a free round of golf and a free meal.